Inflatable tent



July 3, 1956 E. D. BARKER 2,752,923

INFLATABLE TENT Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. 150M450 0 575 1156 BY MM July 3, 1956 E. D. BARKER 2,752,928

INFLATABLE TENT Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. [WV/4E5 2 54/54 55 WM INFLATABLE TENT Edward D. Barker, New Carlisle, Ohio Application July 29, 1952, Serial No. 301,616

4 Claims. (Cl. 135-1) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an inflatable frame for a tent and in particular to an inflatable frame which may be orally inflated without the use of any pump or the like.

Prior tents of this type have generally have been large and cumbersome and in order to inflate and erect the tent it was necessary to use expensive air pressure means for the inflation thereof. Also in order to resist weather elements, winds and the like, it is desirable to design the tent in a streamlined fashion so as to decrease the resistance which it ordinarly would have to withstand. In order to obtain the desired design and curvature it is necessary to bend the inflatable tubular frame. In so doing, the frames become crimped and do not tend to hold the desired shape thereby increasing the possibility of buckling under load. In order to overcome this objection, the tubular frames are preformed in the subject invention so as to assume the final desired position upon being inflated.

This invention is an improvement over the patent to Katzenmeyer et al., No. 2,591,829, dated April 8, 1952, in that in order to obtain the desired curvature of that tent, segments are united or jointed to result in an inverted U- shape, whereas the subject invention is preformed.

To obviate the necessity of making the tubular frame of many segments, it is an object of this invention to preform the entire tubular frame to the ultimate desired shape of the tent according to correct aerodynamic design. By this preforming process, an individual may inflate the tent by his own oral pressure whereas the device in Katzenmeyer et al. must utilize some other outside means for inflating the tent.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tent which is of a single unitary construction which may be carried by one person and easily adapted to standard equipment for individuals without creating an undue burden on the individual in regard to weight and bulkiness of the tent.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tent which may be easily assembled in the field by a single person without the necessity of being skilled and by inflating the device by his own pressure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tent that is light, weatherproof, easily carried by an individual, and readily foldable so as to be easily transported.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shelter consisting of a conventional fabric covering erected by means of an inflatable performed tent frame thereby relieving the necessity for conventional type rigid tent frames such as poles and the like. The preformed pneumatic frame is a novel feature of this invention since it can be inflated orally. The inflatable tubes are permanently attached to the shelter covering with rubber cement so that upon oral inflation of the tube structure, the shelter assumes its upright contour.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tent having inflatable tubular frames which are preformed nited States Patent f as to seal the tent.

2,752,928 Patented July 3, 1956 to assume its ultimate shape. The walls are made of a fabric made of nylon and coated with a weatherproofing material and cemented to the frame. A floor is also cemented to the walls and to the bottom of the framework.

These and other objects willbecome more apparent when read in the light of the accompanying drawings and specification wherein similar parts have like numbers and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the general design of the tent.

Fig; 2 is a view showing the framework of the tent.

Fig. 3 is a view looking into the tent.

Referring to the drawing, 10 represents generally a tent having four U-shaped supporting tubular legs 12, 14, 16 and 18 in an inverted position. The front end is supported by three bowed inflatable tubes 20, 22 and 24. These supporting tubular members are all preformed and are integrally attached to a central main member 26 having an air inlet 28 at one end thereof. The tent is further provided with coated nylon segments 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 40 to form the walls of the tent. These walls are juxtapositioned on the support members and are cemented thereto by rubber cement or the like. Joints formedby the wall sections are covered by tapes 42 so Floor 44 made of the same material as the walls is cemented to the walls and to the supporting tubular members and then sealed by reinforcing tape 4-6 to seal the tent. The wall 34 is further provided with an opening 48 and a flap 50 therefor. The edge of said opening 48 and flap Sli is provided with a zipper 52,

said fastener being accessible from inside or outsde of the tent.

In operation, it is only necessary to remove the. top of the inflation valve 28 and orally inflate the tent'. When fully inflated the tent will assume the position shown in Fig. 1. This position will be obtained without having to bend the tubular members and without the necessity of crimping them. It is pointed out that crimping the supports will lessen the load carrying capacity of the tent. Under a heavy snow storm the tent will collapse if the frame supports are crimped.

This method of erecting a light weight shelter eliminates the use of conventional tent frames which are heavy and easily bent and lost. This type of shelter is also advantageous when rolled or packaged for storage as it requires no complicated packing methods: to protect the tent fabric from being punctured by the .right members. This shelter enables the user to inflate the frame from a central inflating source whereby the entire cover area is erected at the same time. This type of shelter further eliminates the necessity of using stakes, ridge ropes and natural objects such as trees to suspended the shelter in the erected position as found in many mountaineer and tail type tents.

This simple and lightweight tent is easily carried and easily folded to occupy a relatively small area. It can be easily inflated by any person without the necessity of expensive equipment for inflating the same.

The above specification and drawings describe a specific embodiment of the invention for purposes of explanation, it being obvious that various minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventon as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An orally inflatable weather resistant tent comprising, a longitudinal inflatable rib member having symmetrically arranged lateral branches of successively longer lengths bowed outwardly and downwardly therefrom from one end thereof to the other on inflation to provide a streamlined configuration thereto aflording a low narrow cross section at one end gradually expanding vertically and horizontally to the other end thereof, preformed inflatable means connecting to and vertically extendingin curvedfashion from said other end of said rib nrer'nber and'outwardlytherefrorn', inflating'm'eans insaid rib'f'rnernber in communication with said p'reforrn'e d"infla'table means, and means connecting said rib member, said branches thereof and said preformed inflatable means providing a streamlined enclosure on inflation thereof'aifording minimum resistance to wind and maximum 'prdtec'tionfto the occupant.

Q. 'Anorally inflatable tentcomp'rising, a floor member of weatherproofed fabric, a longitudinal orally inflatalile 'i'ib having pre'forrn'ed "flexible support means extending laterally of and downwardly therefrom to connect to'said floormember at th'e'sides thereof, vertically erecting bowed inflatable rib-elements connecting into said" longitudinal r ib' at one-"end thereof and fanning out in generally circular fashion therefrom on inflation to establishthe connected end of "said"'longitudinal rib at substantially higherlevel thanthe other'endthereof, and weather-proofed fabric in'coe'xtens'ive relation'to and'conmeeting toy'said longitudinal rib and the lateral support means and said rib "elements to afford a complete enclosure whereby on inflation "of said inflatable ribs, a terit "affording maximum protection and comfort against wind and storm obtains.

An orally infla'tabletent comprising, a longitudinal inflatable -rib member having short lateral preformed branches a't'one ejnd'thereofbowed outward and'downward'on inflation and a pair of substantially longer laterlal preformedbranches bowed "outwardly'and downwardly fromth'e'otherend' of said rib member, additional tubularpreformedconnectingbranches bowed outwardly and downwardly from said other end of said rib member in "spaced circularly extending fashion, oral inflating means connected to said rib member affording an orally inflatable structure lying low and narrow at one end thereof and sloping upwardly and expanding in symmetrical fashion -to provide adomed configuration at the other end thereof, a floor element of fabric connecting said branches at the lower ends thereof and weather proofed means connected to said rib member and branches thereof and said floor element and providing an access panel in one side of the enclosurembtaining thereby adjacent said other end of said rib member whereby a streamlined tent obtains Which-on infiation-ishighly resistant to. disturbance by wind-and storms.

4. An ora'lly inflatable'tent comprising, a longitudinal flexible rib :m'ernber thavingzsymmetrically arranged laterally extending preformed inflatable ribs connected thereto of successively longer lengths bowed outwardly and downwardly itherefrom *from one end -tothe other thereof on inflation to provide a streamlined configuration thereto affording a low narrow cross section at one end gradually expanding vertically and horizontally to the other end thereof, apre'formed inflatable rib means connectingdn-and diverging from said'other end of-said rib member'in'circlilarfashion and rneansconnected to said r-ib' 'member, said inflatable ribs'and'rib means providing a weather resistant enclosure "thereby affording maximum protection against wind-and'-storrn in the use thereof.

iReferencesfGited in theifile of'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,827,486 Poulsen Oct. 13, 1931 1,897,382 Blair Feb. 14, 1933 1,964,818 Hood July 3, 1934 2,2253972 Brogren. Dec. 24, 1940 2,297,150 .Hunter 'Sept. 29, 1942 2500;650 'Will Mar. '14, 1950 2,531 ,678 Gle'dhill Nov.-28, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 992;086 ='France- July 4, 1951 

